Cultivating Resilience and Anti-Fragility: Core Qualities Essential For Successful Learning
The 10×10 Learning Road Map also cultivates the core qualities we’ve found that are required for success—open-mindedness, resilience, agility, personal agency, and responsibility. These capabilities are critical for what researchers have described as “positive plasticity.” Positive plasticity is the ability to adapt and change in the face of challenges regardless of your age. Positive plasticity leads to successful aging and more satisfaction with life. (*)
By honing these qualities, individuals enable themselves to take calculated risks, make smarter decisions, and better manage uncertainty. As a result, positive plasticity often leads to more prosperous, healthy, and fulfilling lives. On the flip side, the absence of positive plasticity presents distinct risks, particularly when the impact of financial abundance undermines the development of these four qualities, We often hear from parents who are concerned that their financial success may have a damaging effect on their children. For example, they worry that it may lead to children who lack purpose or motivation, and these children may miss out on emotional and social development. Developing a plan that addresses the developmental needs of each family member is the antidote to these fears and can help families actively sidestep potential problems related to significant financial capital.
* Ursula M. Staudinger (2020), “The Positive Plasticity of Adult Development,” American Psychologist 71, no. 4: 540–533, https://www.ursulastaudinger.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/americanpsychologist_UMS_42020.pdf.